Automakers are touting ever-faster charging speeds – Audi and Porsche both showed concept cars at this month’s auto show in Frankfurt that they claim will be able to charge at speeds of up to 300 kW – and Dutch charging network operator Fastned is determined to be ready.

Fastned, which operates 38 stations in the Netherlands and is adding one new station per week, is making sure that all locations have grid connections with at least 630 kVa available. A theoretical EV that could handle this much juice could add 400 km of range in 15 minutes, according to Fastned.

“We believe that charging your car will soon be as convenient as filling up your tank,” said CEO Michiel Langezaal. “This is why we are building fast charging stations with multiple chargers at high-traffic locations. And this is why we commit ourselves to always providing the fastest chargers available.”

Audi says its E-tron Quattro, planned for 2018, will be able to charge at 150 kW, and Porsche says its Mission-E concept can handle 300 kW (Tesla’s Superchargers, the fastest publicly available today, deliver up to 135 kW at some locations).

“When these cars go on sale, potential buyers will ask themselves where they can charge at these speeds,” said Langezaal. “Because it takes years to build a good network of fast charging stations, we have started to build these in the Netherlands in 2013, and are now ready to roll out to other countries.”

Source: Fastned